Action Philosophers

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Cover to Action Philosophers: Giant Size Thing 1

Action Philosophers! is a comic book series by artist Ryan Dunlavey and writer Fred Van Lente, first created for a comic book newspaper "Prophecy", which was never published. Following this, the creative team won the Xeric Grant in late 2004, leading to Action Philosophers! # 1's publication in April 2005.

The series focuses on a concise biography of some of the most notable philosophers and their ideas. To quote the book's homepage:

ACTION PHILOSOPHERS! is a comic book series detailing the lives and thoughts of history's A-list brain trust in a hip and humorous way that proves that philosophy is not just the province of boring tweed-enveloped college professors.

The series, currently scheduled to conclude after issue # 9, has one trade paperback avaiable collecting its first three issues; the second of which is expected in December 2006. Finally, a complete and chronological collection entitled The Complete Action Philosophers! is scheduled for Fall of 2008, after the series finishes.

1 Style and Critical Acclaim
2 Issue Summary
3 Collected edition
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Style and Critical Acclaim

Similar to films such as Waking Life and I Heart Huckabees, Van Lente uses humor and dialog to make complex philosophical ideas more approachable. Theories are examined in as objective a light as possible, with emphasis often given to the thinkers themselves, and how their lives shaped their ideas.

Dunlavey employs a cartoony art style akin to Bruce Timm and Michael Avon Oeming, also working to create a more palatable vision of often complex, metaphorical ideas, in a manner often paying subtle homage to artists such as Jack Kirby.

Van Lente and Dunlavey actively discuss these elements on their message board, and even encourage fans to vote on which philosopher should be highlighted in a future issue (as illustrated with issue # 6, "The People's Choice", where Aquinas & other winners were covered). Currently, a poll is open to determine the stars of issue # 9, "The Lightning Round".

Despite a lack of mainstream press, AP! has been nominated for an Ignatz Outstanding Debut Award^[1], as well as a positive review from Philosophy Now ^[2]

[edit] Issue Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

# 1: - Nietzsche, Bodhidharma, & Plato: "Wrestling Superstar of Ancient Greece!", featuring one of the series' most famous lines, "PLATO SMASH!"

# 2: - The "All Sex Special", featuring Ayn Rand, Thomas Jefferson, & Saint Augustine.

# 3: - "Self Help for Stupid Ugly Losers" featuring Freud, Carl Jung, & Joseph Campbell.

# 4: - "World Domination Handbook" featuring Karl Marx, Machiavelli, & The Kabbalah.

# 5: - "Hate the French" featuring Descartes, Sartre, & Jaques Derrida.

# 6: - "The People's Choice" featuring Kierkegaard, St. Thomas Aquinas, & Ludwig Wittgenstein.

# 7: - "It's all Greek to you" featuring The Pre-Socratics, Aristotle, & Epictetus.

# 8: - "Sensless Violence Special" featuring Kant, Schopenhauer, Hegel, & John Stuart Mill.

# 9: - "The Lightning Round" , the final issue featuring Diogenes the Cynic, Lao Tzu, Francis Bacon and many others yet to be revealed (preview forthcoming, scheduled for publication July 2007).

[edit] Collected edition

Title	Material collected	ISBN
Action Philosophers! Giant-size Thing 1	Action Philosophers #1-3	ISBN 0-9778-3290-2
Action Philosophers! Giant-size Thing 2	Action Philosophers #4-6	ISBN 0-9778-3291-0